Why I support Kiss of love

If in the above picture, the nakedness offends you more than the abuse, beating, harm done to the woman. You are Part of the Problem. 

 

  I support Kiss of love

Kiss of Love protest #KissOfLove is a non-violent protest against moral policing. It started in Kerala and later spread to other parts of India.

It is as simple as that. It is against moral policing, which has nothing moral about it. It is against people who think they have a righteous high moral standing over others and that too backed by the cultural and religious values that make no sense.  These are the same people who are bystanders for everything right from an accident to someone teasing a girl or goons beating up someone, why? “It doesn’t concern us,” they say. “Why should I interfere?”, “Not my problem.” These are the same people who turn up in numbers, mind you in numbers not alone, as they don’t have an existence on their own, no thinking capacity, no individuality, no standing but in groups they can cause menace, terror, destruction, damage and even murder. For what? Because something offended them, something which they supposedly do not think is in line with their so called culture, tradition and religion.

It started because things were going out of hand. The moral policing was way beyond normal tolerance. Even the police were acting beyond their powers. The Law does not have anything about how someone dresses, where someone goes, or whether someone hugs or kisses in public. It has one word ‘obscene’ which is left for interpretation and these religious bigots made it very narrow. Hence this protest! All this is happening despite the fact that the Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court have made it clear that kissing in public is not an obscene act and no criminal proceedings can be initiated, for kissing in public, through landmark judgments.

I am sad (not surprised) at how the media is portraying the Kiss of Love protest. It has lost its aim, and its way and is just being portrayed as something rude and against tradition and society. Not surprised because the media is falling in line with the government in power, the government with its militant religious wings let off leash the #RSS #VHP #Bajrang Dal and others.

 

#Firstpost one of the premier online news website of the country, has a headline which reads “Right issue, wrong tactic: Why Kiss of Love protests miss the mark.” It also goes on to say that All the attention is on the kiss rather than the travesty of moral policing. (Of course, that a reporter spent his time counting the kisses at a kissing-protest speaks volumes about our comfort level with the act.) This clearly shows the ownership and news, truth or a unbiased view's conflict.

 

Isn’t that the basic problem? The media is missing the point or deliberately making sure they miss it and not the protest. The protest is not missing the point. It is bang on the point. It is an expression of counter-power against the government, police and the organizations that have taken up the baton of moral policing. It is a reaction to say that this is what you think is wrong so we are doing it in public, in numbers just to tell you that this is OK. It is just an expression of love, of friendship, or care, or attachment, of emotions and nothing of nudity and obscenity.

 

It is not about kissing in public. It is about the ban, taboo, the moral policing on it, the social stigma that is attached to holding someone’s hands, hugging someone and expressing in public. About not making out in public, no one would want to make out in public, against the claims of the so called sophisticated, cultural people whose moral and ethical standings are hurt by it.

 

The whole point of this is a fight for Rights, Freedom, Equality. It’s about the Right of one person over his/her body, the clothes they wear, the time to go out, and the place they decide to go or not to go to.  It’s as simple as that. No one has the right to stop someone or abuse someone because they think it is obscene or that a girl of wearing too clothes or something. It’s about Freedom of Expression. The freedom to express their love, their affection via hugs, kisses and holding someone and not making out in public as the people who are opposing this protest and cutting it down on this issue. And it’s against Inequality, the protest is against the power the self-policing organizations think they have over others; to beat-up and abuse the so called violators of their superficial and hypocritical code.

 

It is very easy to put down the protest which people are doing and saying that all those supporting this, let your moms and sisters kiss a stranger and that is OK? And people are blindly following the west and all sorts of ludicrous and vulgar comments, while claiming the protest to be vulgar saying that the protest will give rise to increase in forced kisses, sexism, eve teasing and all. These are the people who have no idea what the protest is all about and are blinded by some crappy religious, cultural beliefs and or are the majority of the mob, mobocracy, and power in numbers. It is not following anyone, it is about the basic rights of individuals which people clearly are missing, as they want to as most of them do not know that rights are for and why are they needed for. They are just giving it a bad name for the sake of it. Even the media and many others who understand it are giving it a bad name becoming pets of the government. This is ridiculous!

 

This is where you miss it all. It is about personal relations, friendship and not random people kissing for the sake of it. The aim is to let people express their love, friendship and emotions without the barrier or law or some crazy misled male chauvinists who think they have a greater stake in the society.

 

I support this campaign for the things I have written and also anything that is against personal freedom. And something whose basis is religion and culture, opposed to basic common sense and freedom, for me this is surely worth fighting for.

 

Anand Mangnale.